Trillium Community Health Plan Partners with Carry It Forward to Provide Mobile Shower Units for Unhoused Community Members in Lane County
Date: 08/24/22
Trillium Community Health Plan (Trillium) will partner with Carry It Forward, an organization that serves unhoused people in Lane County, to fund two mobile shower units. One of the units is located at Everyone Village, a planned shelter development in Eugene offering unhoused neighbors innovative housing and employment solutions. The other unit is located at the County/IHAC Quarantine and Isolation site on Highway 99, for individuals experiencing COVID-19.
“At Trillium, we’re committed to partnering with local organizations to address the whole health needs of the communities we serve,” said Suellen Narducci, Trillium’s Chief Operating Officer. “That means not only connecting people to medical, dental, and behavioral healthcare, but also addressing the social determinants of health including access to housing, food, transportation, and personal hygiene options such as these mobile shower units.”
The shower units were built by students from Carry It Forward’s vocational programs, as well as students from Connected Lane County and local schools. In addition to being functional, the mobile shower units have creative, fun designs: one has a ‘70s theme and the other features flamingoes. The two mobile shower units will remain at Everyone Village and the Quarantine and Isolation site on Highway 99 so that unhoused neighbors at these locations have a dedicated resource for personal hygiene services. Carry It Forward hopes to find funding to place additional units at other locations in the Lane County area.
“We’re honored to partner with Trillium on what is truly a community-guided project that meets a local community need,” said Kris McAlister, Executive Director for Carry It Forward. “Each mobile unit is more than just a shower. These units represent our intention to meet people where they are, develop solutions collaboratively, involve our unhoused neighbors in the building and decision-making process, and ultimately create opportunities to contribute and make a real difference.”